VOA标准英语2009年-US Continues Diplomatic Push for Gaza Cease-Fir

The United States is continuing diplomatic contacts for a Gaza cease-fire despite Israel's rejection¹ of a French-proposed 48-hour truce². President Bush spoke³ with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is said to have given an assurance Israel is trying to minimize civilian⁴ casualties in its air campaign against Hamas.
　

Smoke rises from explosion on house hit by Israeli missile in the Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, 31 Dec 2008

Officials here say the U.S. push for a durable⁵ and sustained Gaza cease-fire is continuing undaunted, despite the failure of the French bid to arrange a 48-hour truce for humanitarian⁶ relief efforts in the coastal⁷ strip.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is taking the lead role in U.S. telephone diplomacy⁸.

A spokesman said she had spoken three times in the last 24 hours with both Jordanian Foreign Minister Salah al-Bashir and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin⁹ Zayed al-Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates, a Gulf¹⁰ state having close contacts with Iran - a key sponsor of Hamas.

Meanwhile President Bush, spending the year-end holidays in Texas, telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to, among other things, voice concern about humanitarian conditions in Gaza. White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Mr. Olmert gave a renewed assurance Israel is targeting only Hamas and those affiliated¹¹ with it.
　

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe (file photo)

"Prime Minister Olmert assured President Bush that Israel is taking appropriate steps to avoid civilian casualties," said Johndroe. "That was something the president asked for an update on, and President Bush got an assurance from Prime Minister Olmert that Israel is, as they have said they are doing, only targeting Hamas and that terrorist organization and people involved with Hamas, and that they are working to minimize any civilian casualties."

Johndroe said U.S. efforts are aimed at durable and lasting¹² cease-fire in Gaza that is respected by Hamas - unlike the previous six-month truce that lapsed¹³ earlier this month and which he said the militant¹⁴ Islamic group had regularly violated with rocket fire into Israel.

He all those concerned want an end to the violence as soon as possible, but that the United States does not want to see it start up again in days and weeks with renewed rocket attacks.

The United States had avoided calling for an immediate¹⁵ cease-fire until Tuesday when it joined Russia, the European Union and the United Nations - its partners in the international Quartet on the Middle East - in a statement backing an immediate truce that is "fully¹⁶ respected" by both sides.

In a talk with reporters here, State Department Acting¹⁷ Spokesman Gordon Duguid said the Quartet's wording is critical.

"That formulation is what the Quartet has agreed upon," said Duguid. "You can't take and divide that sentence. They call for an immediate cease-fire that would be fully respected. We believe both sides should reach a cease-fire as quickly as possible but that cease-fire can't be one that is called immediate and then is immediately violated with rocket attacks by Hamas."

The State Department Wednesday renewed a call on U.S. citizens to avoid all travel to the Gaza strip and urged those already there to depart immediately.

U.S. diplomats¹⁸ and officials working in Israel have been told to avoid travel within a 30-kilometer radius¹⁹ of Gaza. Private Americans are being advised to keep even farther away from the conflict area, given the firing in recent days of longer-range rockets from Gaza.

1 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

2 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

5 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

6 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

7 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

8 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

9 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

10 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

11 affiliated   

adj. 附属的, 有关连的

参考例句：

• The hospital is affiliated with the local university. 这家医院附属于当地大学。
• All affiliated members can vote. 所有隶属成员都有投票权。

12 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

13 lapsed   

adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失

参考例句：

• He had lapsed into unconsciousness. 他陷入了昏迷状态。
• He soon lapsed into his previous bad habits. 他很快陷入以前的恶习中去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

15 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

16 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

17 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

18 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 radius   

n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限

参考例句：

• He has visited every shop within a radius of two miles.周围两英里以内的店铺他都去过。
• We are measuring the radius of the circle.我们正在测量圆的半径。